Set Your Goals

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

Mark McCormack in his book, What They Don’t Teach You In The Harvard Business School tells of a Harvard study conducted between 1979 and 1989. In 1979, the graduates of the MBA program at Harvard were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?”

It turned out that only 3% of the graduates had written goals and plans. 13% had goals, but they were not in writing. Fully 84% had no specific goals at all, aside from getting out of school and enjoying the summer.

Ten years later, in 1989, they interviewed the members of that class again. They  found that the 3% of graduates who had clear, written goals when they left Harvard were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% of graduates all together. The only difference between the groups was the clarity of the goals they had for themselves when they started out.

Establishing your goals is more than simply picturing a target, it is a process that starts from the end then develops back to the beginning.  You actually begin with the end in mind.

FIVE MARKERS ON THE COURSE TOWARD GOALS

1. VISION: The ability to visualize a desired future.
2. ACTION: The activity that brings about an alteration by force.
3. ADJUSTMENTS: The discernment to make necessary course corrections.
4. RESULTS: To analyze the success of a determination.
5. PRUNING: To cut off superfluous matter.

You will immediately establish yourself in an elite status if you are able to clearly define your goals.  Doing so will empower you toward a new destiny.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Write out a list of 10 goals.